Tension flares in Crimea as region’s leader asks Russia for help

The newly-installed leader of Ukraine’s Crimea region declared himself in charge of local military and law enforcement Saturday and asked Russia for help.

Sergei Aksyonov, who was hastily voted in as Crimea’s prime minister when masked, armed men seized government buildings early Thursday, accused the new central government in Kiev of appointing a new top police officer in the Black Sea peninsula without coordinating with his regional government.